Variable-speed gear.



No. 810,058. PATENTED JAN. 16, 1906.

P. W. KANE. VARIABLE SPEED GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 31. 1904.

PATENT oEEreE.

`i ETEE wiLLrAM KANE,

OF MASON CITY, IOWA.

VARIABLE-SPEED GEAR.

Specificationl of Letters Erate'nt.

Patented Jan. 16, 1906.

Application ledDecember 31, 1901i. Serial No. 239,181.

To fir/Z whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER WILLIAM KANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mason City, in the county of Cerro Gordo and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Variable Speed Gears, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gear-wheel .trans.

mission, and has particular reference to means for changing from one speed to another with the use of4 cog-wheels.= 'Ihe .object'of the invention is to provide in combination` with a train of gear-wheels of different 'diameters means for transferring the intermeshing gear-wheel from one wheel to another wheel of different diameter without causing a sudden change in speed and without interruption in the transmission of power. For this purpose I provide spiral gears betweenl the wheels in the train of gears up and down which the intermeshing wheel may travel from one gear to another and at the same time gradually raise or lower the Variations in velocity ratio to the objective ratio and without for a moment throwing the driving and the driven gears out of mesh.

My invention consists in a novel constructionand arrangements of parts, hereinafter described in detail, illustrated vin the drawings, and incorporated in the claims.

2In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a system of mechanism embodying my invention. Fig; 2 is-a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view showing a portion of the sleeve carrying the wheel intermeshing with the change-gears- Fig. 4 is a view of Fig. 3, taken on a vertical plane at right angles to the vertical plane of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the guide and a portion of its actuatingshaft.V Fig. 6 is the top plan view thereof.

Referring to the drawings, 2 is a base upon which are bearing-standards 3, 4, and 5, on

the upper ends of which are bearings 6, 7, 8, 9,

and 1() for shafts 11 and 12. OnY the shafts 11 and 12 are pulleys 11 and 12', respectively, so that either shaft may be used as the driving or the driven shaft. In the shaft 11 is a key or rib 13, engaging a keywayor slot 14 in the grooved sleeve 15, upon which is rigidly mounted a gearfwheel 16. In the sleeve 15 are right and left screw-threads or spiral grooves 17 and 18, arranged in opposite directions. Said sleeve also contains cirgears and their operating cular grooves 19, 20, and 21, in one of which the guide 22 normally travels. rotatively mounted upon a shaft 23 ,1 held in the bearing 9 and having a handle 24, by

means of which the guide 22 is moved'in and vout of alinement with the spiral grooves 17.

and 18. An auxiliary bearing 25 is provided to steady the shaft 23. On the shaft 12, mounted in bearings Q` and 10, is a train of gear-wheels 26, 27, and 28. The gears 26 and 27 are connected by a spiral toothed track or spiral gear 29, and gears 27 and '28 are connected by a similargear or track 30. The spiral or inclinedgears connecting said change-gears form a cone of gears, and their teeth are therefore beveled, as shown. The pitch ofthe screw-threads 17 and 18 is the isame as the pitch of the spiral gears, and to effect change from one gear'to another the gear 16 and sleeve 15 are moved bythe shoe or guide 22being caused to engage one of the spiral grooves or screw-threads. Starting from the position shown in Figs l 1 and 2, the gear 16,1nay be moved to gear 27`- by rotating the point of groove 17.

groove 17 with a circular same plane as the point o gear-wheel 26 and the spiral gear`29, andas the guide moves the sleeve 15 to the right wheel 16 is moved laterally in meshvith the spiral gear, its lateral movement being to the same extent as the length of path traversed through groove' 17, thus bringing the wheel 16 to the wheel 27 at the moment guide 22 isin spiral groove 20. stop wheel 16 in mesh with wheel 27, he will The point of junction of' its Said guide is yguide 22 in lineA in the pitch of If the operator desires to,v

groove 19 is in vthe junction between f rotatehandle 23 to bring guide 22 in line with,v

turned into the thread or groove 18. In this inanner the transmission from 'one to the other of the variable-speed gears is effected without .ftlrrowing the wheel 16 out of mesh and without causlng sudden jars which would take place if wheel 16 was thrown out of mesh with wheel 26 directly into mesh with wheel 27. The spiral gear not only affords a path over which the wheel 26l may travel from one chan e-gear `to another, lbut said track also simu taneously transmits to or receives mo- To return' rco tion from said Wheel 16. The operation Will of course be the same Whether the motion is transmittedl 'from the variable gears to the gear 16, or vice versa. v

It is obvious that numerous modifications may. be made in the minor details of embodiment of my invention Without de arting from. the spirit thereof, and I there ore`doV not Wish to confine my invention to the speeilie details of construction herein shown and' described.

Having thus described my invention, I Claim as new and desireto secure by Letters PatentM l. The combination With a cone of gears consisting of a plurality of parallel gear- Wheels and a spiral gear crossing said gear- Wheels and forming parts of the latter at the points of Crossing, of a movable gear-Wheel 16, means for guiding the latter automatically to follow the path of said spiral gear, said means adjustable to hold said movable gear in mesh With either of said parallel gear- Wheels.

2. The combination with a pair of shafts,

, provided Wit siones of a series offohange-gears on one shaft, a

having a gear-wheel thereon.

oppositely'- inclined serewthreads and a series of circular grooves there in, and a guide for shifting said sleeve-bear ing to move saidy gear-Wheel from one to another of said change-gearsy 3. The combination with a cone of gears comprising parallel and spiral gears, of a shaft 13, a sleeve-shaft and the gear-Wheelv 16 movably mounted on said shaft 13, said sleeve-bearin sleeve-'shaft having the oppositely-arranged spiral grooves and the cireular grooves, andthe guide 22 arranged to hold said sleeve' shaft stationary -on shaft 13, or` to move said sleeve-shaft along said shaft 13, substarr, tially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

,PETER vviLiiliAM KANE.

Witnesses:

` D. W. TELFORD,

J. J. MOORE. 

